The present invention relates to a fixing element of metal.
More particularly, it relates to a fixing element which has a slotted expansible sleeve arranged to be expanded into an undercut of a drilled hole, and an expander element effecting the expansion and having a head for clamping an article to a facing panel.
The invention relates to a fixing element of metal according to the preamble of claim 1.
To fix facing panels that are relatively thin in thickness, drilled holes of very small depth and with an undercut are made on the rear side of the facing panel. Conventional fixing elements with expansible sleeves are little suited to this application, since the expansible sleeve is driven using hammer blows onto an expander element resting at the bottom of the bore in order to effect anchorage of the fixing elements. The facing panel could be broken or the bore punched through by the hammer blows.
DE 40 11 229 A1 discloses a fixing element in which these disadvantages are avoided. Instead of an expansible sleeve, this fixing element uses a metallic ring bent into a roof shape, the bent ends of which rest on the conical outer surface of an expander cone resting at the bottom of the drilled hole. Using a setting tool the ring can be pressed flat by slight pressure and bent into the undercut of the drilled hole. In order to avoid the bore being punched through thin facing panels, the pressure force applied has to be judged exactly. A device of that kind is therefore expensive and generally set up at a fixed location. The fixing elements are applied to the facing panels at this location and the panels are then transported to wherever they are to be installed. Because the fixing bolts project beyond the rear side of the facing panels, these cannot be stacked for transport. Shifting the panels and relatively long transportation distances therefore adversely affect the operating process.